How to treat a tennis elbow/golfer's elbow (lateral/medial humerus epicondylitis)

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If you experience pain while practicing sports, working at a computer, or something similar, there is a chance that you might suffer from tennis elbow/golfer’s elbow. On this page, you can find information on the causes of tennis elbow/golfer’s elbow, symptoms and what you can do to treat your pain.

What is a tennis elbow/golfer’s elbow?

Epicondylitis is a condition of pain in the elbow, which is typically caused by overloading the tendons emanating from the outer and inner side of the elbow. The condition appears in two different variants:

Tennis elbow, which is on the outside of the elbow

Golfer’s elbow, which is on the inside of the elbow

Despite the names, tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are more likely to appear in non-athletes. The condition is frequent in occupations whose main work tasks rely on single-sided and repetitive movements using the wrist (e.g. carpentry). However, in the context of sports, as the names suggest, practitioners that do suffer from the condition tend to be either tennis, badminton or golf players.

Causes

A common cause of tennis elbow/golfer’s elbow is when too much pressure or a combination of heavy pressure and repeated movements are put on the wrist extensors (the part of the wrist that allows it to bend backward). Vibrations from using a tennis racket, a hammer or other tools are a frequent cause. Small repetitive exertions of pressure, such as using a computer mouse or typing on a keyboard for several hours, are also a frequent cause.

Symptoms

It is common for the pain to appear a few days after performing the activity that triggered the condition. The pain will grow worse if activities that involve pressure on the wrist are continued. The pain can be experienced as a buzzing sensation or pain on the outer side of the elbow, in the case tennis elbow, and on the inner side, in the case of golfer’s elbow. The pain will often radiate down into the lower part of the arm towards the wrist.

What can you do to treat your tennis elbow/golfer’s elbow?

Relief

Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are caused by overloading the body. The first step in treating an injury caused by overload is to relief the damaged tissue. This is done by limiting the load put on the wrist when you bend it upwards, especially in cases that involve resistance/weight when you move your wrist. This can be difficult because of how we normally use our wrists i.e. by bending our wrists upwards when we carry objects. Instead, try to lift/carry the object with your elbow facing outwards and the palm of your hand facing straight ahead or up. This feels unnatural but it will help you relief the outer side of your elbow.

Exercise

You need to perform mobility, strength and stability exercises to increase your blood circulation and then follow up with stretching exercises. Using bandage for epicondylitis for short-term use may result in significant relief. In light cases, elbow training can be initiated immediately.

You should go through a 3-month training program. Continued exercising will prevent relapses. If you experience too much pain to exercise, some injections of adrenal cortex hormone can be administered. In the rare case that the condition does not respond to traditional treatment, the condition can be treated with surgery instead.

Start your training today

It is important that you offer relief to your elbow at once and being a light rehabilitation. We recommend that you try Injurymap's rehabilitation program for tennis and golfer's elbow as it offers you a complete treatment course that you can begin today.

Examples of good exercises against Tennis elbow / golf elbow:

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8 rep. x 3 set

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3 rep. x 3 set

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30 sec. x 3 set

Injurymap divides your rehabilitation plan into 3 phases

Phase 1

The exercises in phase 1 concentrates on your elboe injury with exercises that aim to improve... Read more

Phase 2

** Phase 2 ** The exercises in Phase 2 help you to strengthen your balance and stability in and... Read more

Phase 3

** Phase 3 ** The exercises in Phase 3 will help you back to normal function by training your... Read more

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Injurymap explained in one minute

Injurymap is an intelligent rehabilitation app, which helps you treat or prevent pain in muscles and joints. The app provides you with a training program that is tailored to your needs and readjusted every time you exercise.